24 Facts About Ruth Lilly

Ruth Lilly was an American philanthropist, the last surviving great-grandchild of Eli Lilly, founder of the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical firm, and heir to the Lilly family fortune.

Ruth Lilly graduated from Indianapolis's Tudor Hall School, a private school for girls, in 1933.

In December 1932, while Ruth Lilly was a teen, her parents purchased a French chateau-style home that became known as Oldfields.

News sources, including the Indianapolis Star, reported that Ruth Lilly suffered from depression for much of her life.

Ruth Lilly's philanthropy fell into four major areas of interest: education, literature and the arts, disease prevention and suppression, and health education and health care.

At the time of Ruth Lilly's headline-making donation, the monthly publication had a circulation of approximately 12,000 and its non-profit publisher, the Modern Poetry Association, had a four-person staff and an annual budget of less than $700,000.

Ruth Lilly made a gift valued at $150 million to the Ruth Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Ruth Lilly enjoyed reading poetry and had written it since the mid-1930s.

Ruth Lilly had made previous donations to the magazine before her major donation in 2002.

For example, Ruth Lilly provided funding to Anderson University for a campus wellness center and to Franklin College for a leadership center.

Ruth Lilly was a patron of various Indianapolis arts organizations, including the Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and the city's ballet and opera organizations, among others.

Ruth Lilly was a member of the Indianapolis Museum of Art's board of trustees.

Ruth Lilly's parents purchased the Ayres's Colonial Revival-style home on Kessler Boulevard in 1955 and renovated it in a European style.

In 1963 the Ruth Lilly family purchased adjoining property to expand the estate to 22 acres.

Ruth Lilly's remains are interred at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Ruth Lilly was survived by six nieces and nephews and their descendants.

Ruth Lilly's legacy continues through the major gifts and grants she provided to colleges and universities.

Several other Indiana colleges and universities received gifts from Ruth Lilly, including Anderson University, Butler University, DePauw University, Franklin College, Hanover College, Marian University, the University of Indianapolis, and Wabash College, among others.

Ruth Lilly made donations to Duke University in North Carolina and Tufts University in Massachusetts.

Ruth Lilly has been a benefactor to several Indianapolis-area schools, including Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, Cathedral High School, Lutheran High School, The Orchard School, and Park Tudor School.

Ruth Lilly's donations have supported the work of several Indianapolis-area hospitals, including IU Health Methodist Hospital, Riley Hospital for Children, and Saint Vincent Indianapolis Hospital.

Ruth Lilly donated $1 million to the Crossroads Rehabilitation Center in Indianapolis for its Assistive Technology Center.

Ruth Lilly supported the Brain Injury Association of Indiana, The Nature Conservancy, the Hoosier Environment Council, the Indianapolis Chapter of the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, the United Way of Central Indiana, and various children's and family support agencies in Indiana and in the Indianapolis area.

Ruth Lilly was contributor to the Heritage Museums and Gardens in Sandwich, Massachusetts, which her brother established as a tribute to their father.